In order to protect the privacy of the individual in this story and their family, we have been asked to not mention any names or share the pictures we took.
“You give life, you are love, you bring light to the darkness. You give hope, you restore, every heart that is broken. Great are you Lord. “
Sitting here in my tent by lake Mantasoa in the middle of madagascar reflecting on the month. As I am watching the lightening and listening to the sound of the thunder and the pouring down rain hitting our tent- I am reminded of God’s love for each of His children and how far He is willing to go for each of them.
One thing I have come to realize is that not everyone in the world may be seeking Jesus but he sure is pursuing them. He will do whatever it takes to bring each one of his sons and daughters home. There isn’t one person on Earth who is overlooked in the eyes of our Father and he is relentlessly pursuing each one of us and will go to desperate measures to make sure everyone on Earth feels his love.
This month is all squad month and each team is doing different ministries each week. It is the first time any world racers have been in Madagascar so we are laying the groundwork for future generations of racers. I wanted to share a story from our first weeks ministry when we had the privilege to do campus evangelism at the big University of Antananarivo.
Each day we would head out to catch the public transportation bus around 6:30 am and finally arrive to campus around 9:00 am. We would meet up at a Church each morning and have a time of worship, devotion, and prayer before we would head out. We would invite the Holy Spirit in to give us visions and signs of people and places we were supposed to go see that day.
The first day when we were praying, I felt the Holy Spirit say that he wanted to bring one of his Muslim children home. This was pretty strange to hear but I have always had a heart for Muslim people- so it made sense.
Before we were getting ready to split up into teams and head out, one of our translators said that she needed 2 volunteers to go to a friend of hers house who happened to be a Muslim and pray for him. I love Gods sense of humor and how direct Holy Spirit can be sometimes. Given what I had heard from the Holy Spirit I literally laughed out loud and said yes, I will do it. Ariana from my team was the other person who stepped up and volunteered to go.
I asked how far the place was and how long it was going to take and our translator said its about 10 minutes walk and we will be back in about 45 min. Which in Madagascar time (or anywhere in Africa for that matter) actually means we would be walking 45 minutes and be back in about 3 hours.
I remember thinking in my head “why did I just volunteer for this.” But I am learning to let go and to trust the Father’s voice no matter what. He clearly told me this is what He wanted me to do this am- so off we went.
I looked at Ariana about 25 minutes into the walk and told her about the Word I had received from the Lord prior to knowing we were going to a Muslims home. We talked about it and both knew God had something huge planned for this visit. We prayed during the walk that the Lord would open up a door for us to share Jesus with the person and His love He has for him.
After about 45 minutes of walking up and down the mountains we turned into a little alley way and headed down some steps. The area we walked down into was a very poor area and there were a lot of kids playing around in the mud and a bunch of little rooms/homes stacked on top of each other.
We reached the room of the person we were going to be meeting with and he invited us in. The home was just one 6 ft by 6ft concrete block with a small mat on the floor. We were asked to take our shoes off when we walked in and were invited to all take a seat on the mat on the floor. I noticed how gracious and polite he was when he asked for us to sit all the way on the mat so that we wouldn’t get mud on our clothes from the walls or from the floor.
He welcomed us into his little place and was open to what we had to say. We told him who we were, what we were doing in Madagascar, and said we would love to answer any questions he may have then pray over him.
He told us that he is a devout Muslim and has been seeking Allah his entire life. His family is very faithful and he grew up following and practicing all things within the Muslim religion. Little did he know Jesus had been pursuing Him and was about to invade his home and more importantly- his heart.
He then began to ask us questions about Jesus, things that were in the bible, and about being a Christian. His questions were very valid, and if I was completely honest with myself, questions I once had and struggled with. They were:
1) Explain the trinity. He was confused as to why we had three Gods and why we needed them.
2) If God is God, why does He need a son? Why would God have a Son. He couldn’t understand and wrap his head around why God would need a son.
3)His final statement/question was the kicker- He thought all religions started from Father Abraham and lead to the same God. All religions are good and one day they all will lead to the same place and we all worship one God. He believed in Universalism. He said Allah and God are the same and that there is no difference between being a Christian and a Muslim and we will all end up with Allah/God one day.
After he said this I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit fall in the room. Ariana and I would both look at each other after each question and figure out which one felt the Holy Spirit nudging them to answer. Ari looked at me and said I got this one. She then looked at him and full of the Holy Spirit and very directly said “The difference is Jesus.”
It was at that moment when I felt such peace and the presence of the Father fall into that place and saw this man eyes open for the first time. The difference IS JESUS! Everything has and will always be Jesus. He is the beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega. Everything starts and ends with Him and His name alone has the power to save. Tears started to run down my face and I lowered my head to wipe them away. There is nothing on Earth that can compare to the Love Jesus has for every person on Earth. There is also nothing more precious than seeing the face of somebody the first time they feel this Love fall over them. These moments make all the struggles on the race worth it.
Ariana and I then took turns sharing the gospel and what Jesus has done in each of our lives. One thing I have found in my Christian walk is that nobody can ever deny personal testimony of what Jesus has done in your life.
Revelation 12:11 “we will overcome, by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. “
When we finished, we asked if he would like us to pray over him and he said he with a smile he said he would love that. We prayed together out loud and it was translated so he could understand what we were praying. We started praying that Jesus would come into his place and more importantly- his heart. We asked Holy Spirit to give him the peace that surpasses all understanding and to fill his body. with His presence. When we were done praying, it took him a couple minutes to finally raise his head up. I have never seen a bigger smile on someones face in my entire life and I will remember it all the way into eternity.
I am fully convinced that he encountered the love, peace, and presence of his perfect Father for the first time. As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, God is relentlessly pursuing each one of us and will go to the greatest of measures just to bring one of his children home. If 1 single thing in the paragraph below doesn’t happen, this moment never happens.
In 2010 I hit rock bottom in my life and surrendered my life to Jesus. He freed me from all kinds of addictions and brought so much joy and peace into my life. Later that year, God stirred up the thought of long term missions and I applied for the World Race. I happened to get an awesome job offer from a financial firm the same week so I decided I would follow what the world was telling me to do and started the job. 5 years later, that same calling came back into my heart while I was sitting in my office. I decided to say yes and went all in 4 Jesus. I had to sell most everything I had and leave everything I had back home. I then had to travel all the way across the world to Madagascar. Wake up that morning take the 3 hour public transportation bus over to the campus then walk 45 minutes up and down a mountain and finally make it to this man’s little home where we got to share the love of Jesus with him. That is how much God will do just to bring one of his children home. That is how much God is pursuing and loves each and every one of us.
I would encourage you to look around at the people and places God puts in front of you each day and to ask Jesus which one of them He wants you to bring His love to. This is His will for our lives. That we would faithfully say Yes to him, carry this out to all the ends of the Earth, and bring His children home to Him for eternity.
Oh what a glorious day it will be to see these wonderful children of God in Heaven.
Matthew 6:19 ” Do not store up for yourselves treasures on Earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
